GRIFFIN, Ga. -- The K-9's name is Jimmi. He was a 2-year-old German shepherd that worked for the Griffin Police Department. His partner Officer Chad Moxon believes Jimmi was killed because he was police dog.

"He was not just a partner that I come to work with and said goodbye at time to clock out, we went home together -- we done everything together," said Moxon.

Moxon said Jimmi had a quite the personality and he was a hard-working dog. Jimmi was used to sniff out drugs, locate bodies and protect his partner. Moxon wishes he was home to protect Jimmi when someone took him.

"There were signs that someone had forced their way into the kennel," said Moxon.

Moxon said someone took Jimmi and another shepherd from his home Monday. Moxon and other Griffin officers passed out fliers and searched for the dogs. Both dogs were missing until Wednesday, that's when Moxon got at tip.

A dog that matched Jimmi's description was seen in a ditch on Rock Quarry Road in Culloden, Ga., about 7 miles from Jimmi's home.

Moxon said, "At first I thought he had been hit by a car and maybe landed like that. His collar and all of his tags were missing and then I saw a gunshot wound. I knew then somebody had murdered my dog."

That same day, a neighbor also found Moxon's other dog.

"He was alive he looked like he was half-starved and badly beaten," said Moxon.

The Lamar County Sheriff's Office is investigating Jimmi's death. Moxon can't believe someone would do such a horrible thing.

"He was not a pet. He was my partner, and it's not going to be let go," said Moxon.

There is a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Jimmi's death.

I found this when I was reading through a bunch of articles regarding or threatening a police dog.

In many places the penalty for assaulting or otherwise harming a police dog is the same as if you had done so to a uniformed officer, thanks to laws that were enacted to deter violence against the dogs that the police force uses.

BARNESVILLE, Ga. (AP) - The Atlanta Humane Society has added $5,000 to the reward offered for information leading to the arrest of the person who shot and killed a Griffin Police Department German shepherd.

The dog, called Jimi, was taken Monday from the kennel at the Lamar County home of his handler, Griffin police Cpl. Chad Moxon. The dog's body was found along a road near Yatesville Wednesday. Moxon says his other dog was found alive but badly beaten.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Moxon and his family had already offered a $1,000 reward, so the total reward is now $6,000.